The present invention relates to a process for manufacturing fiber fortified foodstuffs and to products produced by the process.
There is a tremendous consumer interest in foodstuffs that are lower in fat. At the same time, there is an increased consumer awareness of the benefits associated with the consumption of dietary fiber. Such benefits include the normalization of the bowel function and the reduction in the occurrence of certain colonic diseases. Increased dietary fiber intake has been used in the treatment for diabetes, hypoglycemia, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia. Dietary fiber has also been used as a control for metabolic rates to help prevent obesity.
Various foodstuffs, such as breakfast cereals have been modified to include a greater dietary fiber content. In addition, consumers have looked to snack and convenience foods to provide increased fiber in their diet. In particular, puffed snack food products are popular consumer items for which there exists a great demand.
The general preparation of snack products and ready to eat cereals is well known to those skilled in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 4,526,800, incorporated herein by reference, for example, notes the following processes for preparing expanded snackfoods: (a) a dry collet process, (b) frying a wet completely gelatinized dough, and (c) frying a wet dough containing some ungelatinized starch.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,682,652 and 4,985,269, both of which are incorporated herein by reference, disclose processes for the manufacture of chips. The preparation of ready-to-eat cereals is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,996 incorporated herein by reference.
Puffed snack foods are generally made from a mixture containing meal or flour and other ingredients. Water is added to the mixture to form a dough that is cooked in a cooking extruder to a temperature and pressure at which the dough will expand or "puff" upon reaching atmospheric pressure after extrusion. The extrudate or wet puff is cut to the desired shape and then dried to reduce its moisture content.
It is well known to those skilled in the art to then flavor the dry puff using an oil slurry containing flavoring (e.g., cheese and salt) to produce the final product. Alternatively, U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,204 to Mottur et al., discloses that when cheese and salt are used as a flavoring, the oil can be sprayed onto the dry puff first and then a flavor mixture of cheese and salt can be dusted onto the oil coated puff. This two-step spraying and dusting method is stated to provide an improved cheese flavor over conventional flavor containing oil slurry methods while at the same time reducing the oil content and thus, the calories, of the final product.
Although the processes for manufacturing low fiber snack products and ready-to-eat cereals are well known, there exists a need for fiber fortified foodstuffs and in particular fiber fortified snacks and ready-to-eat cereals that have an acceptable taste. Several alternatives have been suggested for incorporating fiber into snack products and ready-to-eat cereals. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,996 to Ringe discloses a ready-to-eat cereal supplemented with a highly concentrated soluble fiber source so that the cereal contains at least 10% soluble fiber and the ratio of soluble to insoluble fiber ranges from about 0.5:1 to 3:1.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,204 to Mottur et al. discloses a reduced calorie puffed snack food in which microcrystalline cellulose ("MCC") coated with a hydrophilic polysaccharide is mixed with a puff extrudable meal or flour to provide a final product containing about 16% dietary fiber.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,568,557 to Becker et al. describes a snack food which has added dietary fiber at a level of between 5 and 30 percent. In the method described therein, the dietary fiber is soaked in a food grade oil before being incorporated into a granola type bar. This soaking by oil is stated to improve the texture and mouthfeel of the granola bar.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,831 to Sharma describes a method of preparing supplemental dietary fiber for inclusion in products such as snack bars. According to the method described, insoluble dietary fiber is enrobed in soluble dietary fiber. This method is also stated to improve the texture and mouthfeel of the products into which the supplemental dietary fiber is incorporated.
In each of these alternatives, the fiber is incorporated with the substrate, base, or dough. Unfortunately, doughs high in fibers are difficult to manufacture because they can absorb undesirably high amounts of moisture during processing. Also, they can develop very high viscosities. In addition, the added fiber can adversely inhibit the expansion and detrimentally affect the texture and flavor of an extruded puffed product. Accordingly, there exists a need for foodstuffs, and in particular, puffed products having added fiber and a desirable taste and texture.